Third suspect arrested in impersonation case

Third suspect arrestedin impersonation case
BROOKFIELD -- Police said a third suspect was taken into custody Tuesday in a case of people posing as police officers to gain entry into a home on Monday. Township Police Chief Daniel Faustino said Robert J. Gallagher, 32, was arrested in Erie, Pa., by the Pennsylvania State Police. He is awaiting extradition on charges of burglary, disrupting public service and impersonating a police officer. Police were called to a Brookwood Drive residence where some people who identified themselves as police officers attempted to get inside. The resident ran to a neighbor's house to call for help. Cassandra J. Lorius, 19, was arrested at the scene on charges of burglary and impersonating a police officer. Robert Gallagher's brother, Ernest W. Gallagher, 43, was arrested at his home Tuesday morning on a charge of complicity to burglary. The three reside together on Brookfield Drive, Masury. Lorius and Ernest Gallagher are in the Trumbull County Jail awaiting arraignment at 9 a.m. Thursday in Trumbull County Eastern District Court.
Group protests useof inmate workers
NILES -- Members of the Western Reserve Building and Construction Trades Council were again protesting use of prison workers in a former school building today. The council, along with several local and state legislators, were at the former Edison Junior High School, 36 W. Church St. The protest was similar to one conducted last week by the council. Members are opposed to laborers from Ohio Penal Industries in Columbus being used to remove asbestos from the old school, which is slated for demolition. The council says the workers are undermining area standards and taking jobs from law-abiding citizens.
Guilty plea in rape case
WARREN -- A 73-year-old city man has pleaded guilty to four counts of raping a young girl. Frank DuFour, of Dunstan Drive, entered the pleas Tuesday in the courtroom of Judge Andrew Logan of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court. He will be sentenced after a background check by the county adult probation department. The victim in the case was a 5-year-old girl DuFour knew, court officials said.
Felonious assault warrantafter shooting in Niles
NILES -- Police are searching for a man they say fired shots at three men in a shopping center parking lot. Police Capt. Charles Wilson said police are looking for an 18-year-old white male who drives a gold 1982 Oldsmobile Cutlass with the Ohio license plate CTJ 1409. The man is wanted on three counts of felonious assault, Wilson said. Police are not yet releasing the man's name but say he may be armed with a small automatic pistol. Reports say the man was in the parking lot of Burlington Coat Factory on Youngstown-Warren Road at about noon Tuesday when he fired four shots at three black men who were in a blue minivan. None of the men was injured.
Prescription drugs sought
NILES -- A man who reportedly walked into a pharmacy looking for prescription drugs is being sought by police. Reports say a white man in his 50s, about 6 feet tall and wearing a brown jacket, jeans, dark boots and a cowboy hat, entered Walgreens Pharmacy on Youngstown-Warren Road at about 10:50 p.m. Tuesday, pointed a revolver at a clerk and ordered her back into the pharmacy area. Employees told police the man demanded OxyContin pills but walked out of the store in frustration when employees told him the pharmacy area was locked and they had no access to it. Reports do not say if the man left the area on foot or in a vehicle.
Filing a zoning complaint
MINERAL RIDGE -- Weathersfield Township trustees approved Tuesday a zoning commission recommendation to change requirements for filing a zoning complaint, now requiring that complaints can no longer be anonymous and must be filed in writing. The amendment, which was approved in November by the township zoning commission, removes the words verbally and anonymous from the existing zoning law. The change goes into effect in 30 days.